A Post about the Cold and Other Stuff?

Some of the “outside-experiment” anemones turned brown after the cold – we’ll see if they bounce back in the spring. What can I say? I’m a dreamer.

It looks like winter is officially here. It’s been colder and I’ve been “babying” the ranunculus in the polytunnel on the extra cold nights. I’ll talk more about that in a second. Things seem to be way busier than they should be right now. But, it’s definitely been “one of those” weeks. Just today, when I was dragging the grocery bags into my house – the neighbors opened their bedroom window and started screaming profanities at me. At first, I didn’t think they were talking to me, why would they be? But, it turns out they were – and why, you may wonder? Well, it was because I had woke them up when my car door accidentally slammed shut when my hands were full of bags. Did I mention it was 1:30PM?I think that was really the straw that broke me today. I knew I had to sit down and write this post immediately, or the fact of that matter would be that I would not get anything accomplished today. Sometimes, you just need a little sunshine, you know what I mean?

The agrostemma isn’t happy about the cold, either.

Let’s get down to the good stuff. Well, also, the not so good stuff. This is always a learning process. The real truth is that this will only be my 3rd season growing flowers. I read a lot. I ask a lot of questions. It’s not an uncommon thing for me to stay up until 3AM searching the internet to figure out how to grow something where I live. I dive into things head-first and hope for the best and try to keep track of what happens.

And the scabiosa hates me, too.

RANT OF THE DAY***ALERT***

NOTHING burns my biscuits more than people who aren’t willing to help each other. Here’s the deal, lately I’ve been hearing so much about the “COMMUNITY OVER COMPETITION” movement online. It’s everywhere. It encourages women to bond and work together instead of compete – in all fields – fashion, food, work, farms, art, everything. Well, guess what happens (more often than not, in my humble experience) when you ask a question? You get ignored. That’s what happens. If a question or comment isn’t even worthy of a response, why even bother pretending like you want to build a community? Just go ahead and disable the comments and call it a day. I realize there are always exceptions to this – yeah, if you have 3 million followers, it’s not a real option. This is really a broad generalization and observation. I don’t think Beyonce is going to have the time to answer my question about what kind of shampoo she uses. But let’s just be real for a second, you can’t take five minutes to answer a question that 50 people have asked. The answer would obviously benefit more than one person. Better yet, if you only have 23 people who follow you on Instagram and you don’t have time to answer a question? You can trust me when I say I will always remember that. I took the time to read your post and comment. You can’t take the time to answer my question? Was my question too stupid for you? Did you take a secret oath at your last garden club meeting in which you swore to never divulge the secrets? If you tell me when you plant your sweet peas will the garden club, in turn, kidnap your dog or something? I’m not bitter (I am, lol). I just want to understand. With all that out of my system, do you agree? Disagree? Why? Leave it in the comments, I’d love to know. In learning to grow all this stuff, I just want to help you be successful, too. If at any point in the future you find me being totally lame and ignoring people – just send me a screenshot of this post and I’ll try to answer as many questions as I can without getting overwhelmed. Seriously.

***END***Back to regularly scheduled programming*

Oh, anemones. How are you so pretty?

So, the “hardy annuals” are having a really hard time in my garden. Honestly, I have no clue why either. Even the bachelor buttons, which I’ve seen people in zone 4 planting in the fall, have had some major damage. I have a couple theories as to what’s going on here: drastic temperature change and/or wind. One day it’s 55F, the next night it was 8F. Anyone who’s ever lived in Kentucky can tell you to expect that kind of thing – that’s just how it is. But, being that the winter has been so warm, I’m not so sure that any plant could have been ready to that kind of cold shift. In addition to the drastic drop, we had some seriously strong winds – gusts of 40mph. I think the whole thing was just a gross mess. How are your hardy annuals doing? Have you had plants that turned brown come back in the spring time? Will the strong root systems send up new growth when the weather warms? We’re certainly going to learn together!

Everyone is tucked into bed for the night. Like you’ve never used old sheets!? Quit judging me! See my little red “outdoor grade” heater. It’s not very strong. But it raises the temperature about 6 degrees, which is a total help!

Anytime that the weather drops down into the single digits, I get nervous about the hoophouse. Anything under 26F and the anemones and ranunculus get covered with a frost blanket (or old sheets, lol). Anything under about 18F and I can’t help but turn on a small heater just for a little extra security. So with nights at 8F, they’re both tucked nicely and safely away. Blankets and heat come off during the day if it’s sunny and/or it’s above 30F. To an extent, they’re way too needy. But, at the same time, caring for something green when everything else is covered in snow is one of the only ways that I’m keeping myself sane!

Before I forget! 30 new varieties have been winter sowed! Here’s crossing out fingers for success and a beautiful spring! We can do it!

Did I miss anything? Let me know! Hope you’re having a great day, much love!

16 Comments

TOTALLY agree about community over competition. I haven’t had any of that happen to me that I can think of but I think it is so important to acknowledge and help others whether it be as women, bloggers, or just people.

I can’t wait for Spring to roll around so I can get landscaping. I know basically nothing about gardening so I will certainly be following along with you here 🙂

I think it’s great, just really frustrating when it only applies in certain circumstances. But, I digress, lol! I’m so excited for flowers to start blooming. We’ve had a bit of snow here, and though the snow is pretty to look at, I would much rather see the bright colors! 🙂 🙂

Never heard that community over competition thing, but it sounds (almost too) good to be true.
I am not the best od gardeners, but perrenials should come back in spring. Here in Berlin we get harsh winters, too. But come spring, everything sprouts again, don’t worry…

What was your question?
“hardy annuals” Not sure what you mean here as annuals only do one year. Perennials usually come back unless they don’t like it there or something eats them.
I noticed some chickweed on your photos. That is a nice salad green.

This garden was a lawn last year, so I have lots and lots of “weeds” coming up in the flower beds! 🙂 🙂 🙂 In reference to the hardy annuals, there are certain annual flowers that are more able to tolerate cold weather. They’re still technically annuals, but the planting time is what makes them different (cold hardy). For example, bachelor’s buttons. The normal time to plant these is in early spring. As annuals, they obviously bloom the same summer and don’t come back unless they reseed themselves. However, bachelor buttons are also able to survive cold weather surprisingly well. So, if seeds are planted in the fall they’ll germinate and survive (in many places) as smaller “seedlings” over winter and bloom the following spring. The positives of this are earlier flowers, and since there was more time to develop a root system, stronger plants. This is extra beneficial in places where the temperatures rise quickly in the summer. I hope I was able to explain that better. Sometimes it’s difficult for me to describe exactly what I mean! 🙂 🙂 🙂 Do you plant anything in the fall? Hope you’re having a really great day!!

Your plants are getting better care than my children!! 😉
I usually watch my entire flowerbed turn brown in November but we’ve had a very mild and wet winter so there is still some green. Can’t wait for spring bulbs!

HAHA! I always joke that it’s a good thing I don’t have kids – because I’d probably “forget to water them”. I’m so excited for spring bulbs! I seriously have way too much of an obsession with daffodils and tulips.